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North Korea fires ballistic missiles amid tensions with South Korea

Latest launches don't pose any immediate threats to allies, says US

NKOREA-POLITICS North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attending party meeting on Friday | via Korean Central News Agency

North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea east of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday. It is the latest in an unprecedented number of missile tests conducted by North Korea this year. 

According to reports, the three short-range ballistic missiles were fired from North Hwanghae Province, south of the capital Pyongyang. 

All three flew at an altitude of around 100 km (62 miles) and covered a range of around 350 km (217 miles), Japan's defence ministry said, reported Reuters. 

Meanwhile, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned the latest launch and said it is a clear violation of the UN Security Council. 

"North Korea's ballistic missile(s) launch is a grave provocation that undermines peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as the international community," said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

However, Washington had said that the launches did not pose any immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory. 

The missiles were launched a day after South Korea announced that it had successfully conducted a test flight of a solid-propellant space launch vehicle. 

On Friday leader Kim Jong Un conducted a party meeting to decide on policies and strategies for 2023. 

Also, North Korea had flown drones over South Korea last week. It is considered the first intrusion since 2017. 

Since South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's conservative government took over in May, relations with North Korea had become more tense. 

Around 70 ballistic missiles were fired by North Korea this year. 

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